Belichick likes Tebow, not Tebow-mania

June 11, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Tim Tebow talks with New England Patriots offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels during minicamp Tuesday. McDaniels was Tebow's head coach when he played for Denver. JARED WICKERHAM, GETTY IMAGES

Tim Tebow talks with New England Patriots offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels during minicamp Tuesday. McDaniels was Tebow's head coach when he played for Denver. JARED WICKERHAM, GETTY IMAGES

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It took New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick about five minutes to show some frustration with the interest in quarterback Tim Tebow joining the Patriots.

When the Patriots coach held a news conference Tuesday morning to mark the opening of his team's mandatory minicamp, virtually all the questions for the first five minutes were about Tebow.

"He's a talented guy. He's smart, he works hard," Belichick said of Tebow.

Asked how he plans to use him, Belichick responded, "We're going to do what we think is best for our football team. We'll see."

One question after another came about Tebow until, finally, Belichick said, "I think we've talked enough about him. Anything else?"

The questions shifted briefly, but then once again returned to Tebow. After about eight minutes at the podium, Belichick said thank you and walked away without waiting for any more questions, something he rarely does.

The Patriots announced the signing of the former Jets quarterback on Tuesday, six weeks after he was cut by New York and just in time for the start of the three-day Patriots minicamp that runs through Thursday.

Tebow practiced with veteran New England starter Tom Brady and backup Mallett. The newest Patriot wore No. 5, not his familiar 15 — which belongs to Mallett — on his shorts and helmet. The QBs wore red jerseys without numbers.

Two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press that Tebow was signed for two years with no guaranteed money. One person says he will make the veteran's minimum salary, $630,000 in 2013, with incentives.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because terms of the deals had not been announced.

ESPN first reported terms of the signing.

With 15 video cameras and more than 40 media members in the audience, Belichick said, "We've been in front of bigger crowds before."

Tebow, 25, is being reunited with Josh McDaniels, the Patriots offensive coordinator who was Denver's head coach when the Broncos traded into the first round to take him with the 25th draft pick in 2010. McDaniels stood next to Tebow on the practice field.

There is no guarantee that Tebow will still be with the Patriots when training camp begins next month, but if the Patriots keep him, he would have time to develop as a quarterback since Brady holds that job. Tebow even could be tried at tight end, where the status of Rob Gronkowski is uncertain after he had his fourth operation on his broken left forearm on May 20 and faces back surgery this month.

Tebow's NFL career appeared to be over when the Jets released him on April 29 and no team rushed to sign him. But Belichick decided to bring in the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner who led Florida to two national championships.

"I'm happy for the young man to get another opportunity in the league and things like that. We've already mentioned that it didn't work out here," New York coach Rex Ryan said. "Obviously, Tim had more success in Denver than he did here."

After the NFL draft, in which they selected quarterback Geno Smith from West Virginia, the Jets decided to release Tebow just more than a year after a dressed-up, high-profile press conference that welcomed him to the organization.

New York went 6-10 last season, lost its final three games and finished tied for last place in the AFC East with Buffalo. New England, meanwhile, went 12-4, won the division and advanced to the AFC title game.

"I felt like it was a learning opportunity for me. There was a lot that I'll take from it," Tebow said at the end of the season. "There's a lot that I learned, and there are lot of relationships that I've built, so I know that it happened for a reason."

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